Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Not On the Test

We are entering the high stakes testing season. It’s always our great
dilemma as creative educators because we know deep in our hearts that our
students learn more when they create content. They know it when they can teach
it! Yet, when it comes time for high stakes testing to roll in, creating, the
highest level of Bloom’s revised Taxonomy is rarely implemented.Instead, the students are prepared for the
lowest level, remembering. I get it, I understand the pressure. Jobs are at
stake, schools and now counties will be graded and ranked. How can we prove
once and for all that students will achieve higher scores when they own the
content.I wish I had the answer.All I know is that students who are creating
audio, videos, presentations or projects of any type are engaged,
purpose-driven and mastering the material.This “tuesdays” is designed to
engage in the conversation of a classroom where the students are doing the
creating or the teacher is doing all the work. What do you think?

A
creative website

This little toe tapping website has a powerful message.Be sure to watch this little 2 min. video, Not On The Test. It’s a powerful
message and a great way to help those of us who love creativity in the
classroom help get the word out.It’s
not so easy to prove that students learn better in a creative classroom, but
it’s very easy to observe.Did you know that young people who
consistently participate in comprehensive, sequential, and rigorous arts
programs are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, 3
times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools, 4 times
more likely to participate in math and science fairs, 3 times more likely to
win an award for school attendance and 4 times more likely to win an award for
writing an essay or poem.I got
those facts from Tom Chapin’s
website.Is your toe tapping yet?

“Here is
the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive, it
isn’t.” Richard
Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull

An
encouragement

The encouragement I would like to give all teachers is to trust your
students. We tend to not offer students the ability to try new technologies or
creative projects if we are not comfortable with them.The reasoning goes something like this, “If it took me 2 hours to learn this, it will
probably take 4 hours for my students.”Ironically, it is probably the exact opposite. They most likely need
half the time to learn new and creative ways to accomplish the task at
hand.Our job as educators is to give
them time and opportunity.

How do
you do that?

How do you give the students time and opportunity to be creative? There’s
no ONE way, there’s a multitude of styles and environments, but mostly
importantly you must establish trust and accountability. When equipment is
limited, use stations, centers, labs and rotations to give the kids a chance to
put their hands on the creative tools of today: iPads, digital cameras, digital
camcorders, SMART Boards, etc. Establish and practice a dignified signal
to get their attention and complete silence when needed, but don’t overuse it.
Teach them to appreciate the opportunity for you can surely say, “I giveth and I taketh away.”Once the students understand the power of
having a time to become producers of their content, they are very careful to
guard the opportunity. Just as we should have evidence of student work all over
our classroom walls, we need to give today’s students the opportunity to have
their content displayed on our school websites and teacher web pages.The quality of the projects are immediately
enhanced when they know they have a wider audience. Please consider doing any
form of project with your students for their learning sake.